Vermont man gets 5 years for dark web drug dealing

A Vermont man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for a conviction stemming from the Justice Dept.’s first undercover operation targeting dark web drug markets.

Sam Bent, of St. Johnsbury, was sentenced on Friday in U.S. District Court in Burlington. His cousin, Djeneba Bent was sentenced to three years of probation.

The Justice Dept. Said last year that they were among 35 people from all around the countr charged in its investigation. The darknet, also known as darkweb, is a place that’s very frequently used for illicit activities like selling drugs or money laundering. Darknet is an encrypted network also accessible only through anonymity-providing browsers.

The Bents pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to distribute drugs in deals negotiated via dark web and paid for with Bitcoin.